Strange Casino Stories

February 13, 2017

Every casino has its fair share of weird stories to tell. From ghosts that apparently inhabit certain casino hotel floors, to bizarre winning streaks that defy belief, to everything in between. Some claim that these stories are simply publicity stunts to draw attention to a certain casino, which indeed may be true. The following stories, however, are 100% true, and are certainly as difficult to believe. Here are 2 casino stories so bizarre they may just make you rethink what’s possible.

The Losing Streak That Defies Belief

A man named Harry Watanabe had a dream; to be one of the biggest oriental themed trading companies in the United States. And he very nearly achieved that dream, naming his company, fittingly, the Oriental Trading Company. Between 1932 and 1977 Harry nurtured his company with blood, sweat and tears and upon passing it on to his son, it was a multimillion-dollar establishment.

Terry, Harry’s son, took over the company from 1977 until 2000, continuing his father’s work and pouring every ounce of energy into the Oriental Trading Company. In 2000 he sold his entire stake, and walked away a multi-multi-millionaire. How much he got exactly is unknown, but the amount was a fortune. In 2007 is when Terry decided to take a trip to Las Vegas, and this is when he began to gamble. And he didn’t stop. And this is where the story takes a turn for the insane.

Terry lived at Harrah’s Casino in Las Vegas for a year, and during this time racked up a gambling bill that can only be described as madness. He gambled virtually every day, sometimes losing up to $5 million dollars in a single sitting, and soon had a bill of $200 million dollars. During this time the casino offered him;

A $500,000 credit line at the casino’s gift shop

$12,500 free airfare for any trips Terry took

24 hour access to all casino facilities

Private access to any casino games he wanted

Multi-hand blackjack privileges, allowing him to play 3 hands simultaneously

At some point Terry left the casino, and in desperation checked himself into an addiction clinic. Thankfully, the man managed to kick the habit. Harrah’s Casino, on the other hand, were less impressed. He had left his bill unpaid, and they were not going to take it sitting down. A court case ensued, and in the end a private deal was struck. Terry landed up paying only $112 million. What a relief it was a reasonable amount of money he had spent.

The Winning Streak That Defies Belief

People can lose money in Las Vegas, and people can win it. And if you thought the first story was difficult to believe, get ready to have your mind blown. And yes, this story is 100% true. Patricia Demauro stepped up to the craps table and started rolling the dice at Borgata Hotel Casino, and decided not to stop rolling until she struck out. So she kept rolling, and kept rolling, and managed to roll the dice 154 times, in a row, without losing. If you’re wondering what exactly the odds are of this occurring, let us break it down for you. The odds are about 1 in 1.56 trillion. Or, to put it a way that has more visual impact, the odds are;

1: 1,560,000,000,000

To put it another way, the odds of being struck by lightening are 1:700,000

The odds of being in a plane crash are 1:2,000,000

And the chances of winning the United Kingdom lottery are 1:13,983,816

So to put it another way, Patricia got struck by lightening, was in a place crash, and won the United Kingdom lottery, in a single sitting. From the point she started rolling the dice, to the point she finally struck out, was over 4 hours. And one can only imagine the excitement that must have occurred around the table at this time. People must have thought they were witnessing some kind of miracle. And the expression on the croupier’s face must have been priceless. At what point during the 4 hour long winning spree must the person have checked, and rechecked that the dice were real, and not loaded?

Patricia didn’t reveal how much money she pocketed during this winning streak, but speculation is that it was likely a minimum of hundreds of thousands of dollars, but more likely somewhere in the tens of millions. When asked if she would go back to the casino and roll the dice again, the lady politely said that she would not be shooting at a craps table again for some time, since the pressure for her to repeat such an insanely good streak of luck was too high. Considering how much money she won, though, there really can’t be much reason for her to go back anyway, other than to make the croupier start sweating at the sight of her.